N.C. solar growing due to incentives, lower technology prices

A major expansion of the solar energy farm at SAS's sprawling campus is among the projects taking solar power to new levels in North Carolina.

But the 12-acre facility in Cary, among the largest solar farms in the state, will soon be eclipsed in size by more ambitious projects.

Already, solar power has become the state's leading source of renewable energy as companies large and small line up to take advantage of lucrative state and federal incentives that virtually guarantee a profit. In addition, the declining cost of solar technology even made the price of what SAS calls Solar Farm 2 less than the original project even as it generates 20 percent more electricity.